A chance meeting
by El loopy
Summary: Sequel. Rax is surprised when he bumps into Prue in an art store ten years after they had to say goodbye. A friendship is rekindled. Are they willing to step out onto the thin ice? Twopart one shot. Spoilers. PrueXRax.
1. Chapter 1

**I have to say I hated this book. I read it for a sponsored read and was thoroughly appalled, however that didn't stop me writing a sequel...hmmm...I think my logics flawed. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own the characters, they are Jacqueline Wilson's.**

Love Lessons: Sequel

"Rax?"

Keith looked around the art shop for the source of his name…or nickname. Rax…he hadn't used that in years.

"Keith Raxington!"

He looked past the shelves stuffed with sketchpads, rolls of paper, rainbow colours of pastels and paint pots, glitter and pencils.

There was a girl, probably mid-twenties, with a sketchpad tucked under one arm and her hands full of artistic tools. Her eyes were wide and green, full of surprise and delight. Brown hair straggled across her face in wisps, giving new meaning to the word windswept.

Did he know her? A further study of her face and he knew. The shock washed over him in a wave and settled in the pit of his stomach.

"Prudence King?"

She grinned. "Yeah! You remember me! I thought you'd forgotten."

"No." He shook his head. "Never forgotten." _I could never forget you_. "It's just you look so…different. So…" _Curvy, beautiful, hot!_ "Grown up."

"Well it has been ten years." She studied his face. "You got rid of the beard."

He shrugged. "Yes." _I got rid of a lot of things._

"It's really great to see you. We should get coffee. Catch up. Let me just get these things... don't go anywhere." She carried the items off to the counter and dumped them there. Had he imagined the tinge of panic in the last phrase? Did she think he'd run? She'd glanced behind her, checking he was still there. He didn't blame her. The thought had entered his head. What was this going to bring back into their lives?

Sighing he walked up to her and leaned on the counter. She smiled at him and his stomach turned over. So he still loved her then. He shook himself mentally. She might have changed. It had been ten years.

"Let's get that coffee," she grinned.

-------------

"So, what have you been doing?" she asked, nursing her cup. "You do still draw don't you?"

He smiled, though somewhat hesitantly, "Of course I do. I still teach but at different school now. Morton Comprehensive."

"Cool." She sipped her latte.

"And you?" he asked.

"I got through Art College. When Dad died about six years ago I helped mum take over the shop. Grace helps her to run it now. It's still a bookshop but it's also a café now as well. I graduated from uni and have a nice job in advertising."

"I thought you'd be a teacher."

"Everyone did. I'm good at it but I don't like it. I don't have the patience." She downed the coffee. "How are Marianne and the children?"

"They're great," he answered stiffly. "Harry wants to be an architect, he's taking the GCSEs to do it. Lily's doing fine at school and Matthew…"

"Matthew?"

"Marianne had another baby. It was the reason she was ill the night…" he trailed off.

A ringing shattered the tense silence. Prue flipped open her mobile.

"Hello?" She listened for a few moments, pulled a face at Rax then snapped it shut. "I've got to run. Hey! Give me your number. I'll get in touch. Dinner tomorrow night?"

"Same old forward Prudence," he smiled, scribbling his mobile down on a napkin and handing it to her.

"See ya," she laughed and bounced out of the café.

The moment she was gone the smile slid from his face. She'd moved on without him, just like he'd known she would.

-------------

Prudence reached the office in a state of turmoil. It had been like an ice-cold shock seeing him again. A shock that had opened up the badly healed wound and kick started the dull throb in her head and heart. She hadn't forgotten him. Never. She'd written about him to keep her memory fresh and still had her drawings but she'd looked at them less and less often as she'd grown older. It had been too painful. She'd moved on but not really. Sometimes she'd see something that reminded her of him and whenever she drew he was watching in her head. Usually after she'd done a particularly long drawing session she'd dream of him. Dreams that brought her love to the surface, filled with desire and longing and left her in pain when she awoke. When she'd seen him in the shop she'd been surprised, the obvious differences in his appearance had hit her first but then they'd faded. His eyes looked tired, there were more lines on his face, but, most significantly, he'd shaved off his beard. She hadn't been able to help commenting on that. It had been that, more than anything, which had made her start to doubt that he still drew.

She'd adopted an air of girlish excitement at meeting an old acquaintance. He was probably still married and had forgotten all about her. She didn't want to show that she still loved him.

-------------

That evening Rax sat by the phone pretending to watch the news on TV and trying to avoid looking at the mocking bit of plastic that lay on the arm of the sofa.

_Will she call? _

_You hope she'll call but would you call in her position? _

_I don't know…_

_No, of course you wouldn't. Good grief you broke the girl's heart. _

_A schoolgirl's crush does not equal a broken heart. _

_Don't try to wheedle out of it. You kissed her. _

_She kissed me first. _

_You kissed her back. _

Rax groaned and put his head in his hands.

"Shut up," he muttered shaking his head to silence the two voices. "Just shut up." The worst part was he'd never forgotten the kisses they'd shared but he had regretted them and he wished he didn't.

When the phone did he ring he jumped out of his skin. Within seconds he clicked the answer button, "Hello." Did he sound flustered?

"Keith? What you been doing? Running around the block?"

Rax barely stifled the groan and sank back onto the sofa. "What do you want Johnny?"

"I'm offended," he heard his brother proclaim on the other end of the phone. "All I wanted was to have a chat…"

-------------

_Yes. No. Yes. No. Yes. No. To call or not to call that is the question._

Prue sighed and threw the piece of paper bearing Rax's number next to the phone. Maybe she should just wait for him to call her. Idiot. He didn't have her number. The ball was entirely in her court…she jut couldn't decide what to do with it. Did she hit it back? Did she throw it over a wall? Did she run as fast as possible in the other direction, tossing the racquet over her shoulder as she went? Hmmm. The more pressing question was whether she could content herself with just being his friend.

Picking up the phone she dialled in the number with trembling fingers. What did she say? Oh crap! She'd forgotten how to speak. The engaged tone screamed down the phone at her and she threw it onto the chair. It was a sign. A sign. She wasn't meant to see him again. Good. Good. That was her decision made.

Prue patted into the kitchen and switched on the kettle. As the hissing filled the room she grabbed a dinner from the fridge and stabbed a fork through the lid violently before slamming it into the microwave. It wasn't till the snap of the kettle switching off making her start that she realised she'd been standing against the counter nervously chewing one nail. Shaking herself she poured out the water, listening to the hum of the microwave, and stepped back into the main room, clicking on the TV.

"…they hope to find something soon. The Prime Minister had to make a difficult decision today concerning…"

_Beep! Beep! Beep!_

The noise of the microwave halted her train of thought again.

"Awww, to heck with it!"

Prue dumped her cup down on the side and reached for the phone. The ball was in her court was it? Well she'd always enjoyed tennis.

-------------

"Little idiot." Rax rubbed the corners of his eyes tiredly. Money again. What else? With a sigh he slumped back down on the couch. He didn't have any money to lend. The phone rang again…and he remembered. With a shaking hand he picked it up and pressed the receiver to his ear.

"Hello?"

-------------

Prudence breathed a thank you. If it'd been Marianne then she would've had to pretend she'd got the wrong number.

"It's Prudence here."

She heard Rax chuckle on the other end of the phone.

//I didn't think it'd be anyone else//

Was his voice strained? Nervous?

She shook it off.

"You doing all right?"

// Yeah, I guess. Just got off the phone to my brother//

That would explain the engaged tone.

"You don't sound pleased about it…"

// It's okay. Just…never mind. How was work//

How did 'I didn't do anything because I was thinking about you' sound. Too forward?

"Fine. The big emergency was this new design. Apparently the colours didn't match or something…"

She heard a door slam on Keith's end and echoed shouts. Her hand clenched the phone so hard her knuckles turned white.

// One moment Prue…//

She heard his hand cover the phone and his muffled voice talking to someone.

_//How was football//_

_Good. We beat the crap out of the other team _

"Is that Harry?" she couldn't stop herself whispering.

//Yeah//

"He sounds older."

//Of course Prue// she heard him laugh //It's been ten years…now what were you saying about dinner tomorrow night//

She smiled, "How about at the Aquarius?"

//Sounds good. It'll be my treat. //

"You sure?"

// Positive //

"Okay…I'll meet you there at seven?"

// Yeah. That'll be good. //

"See you then. Bye."

//Bye//

She clicked the phone back onto its receiver and found that she'd tense up all over, so much so that her legs were shaking. Taking a deep breath she calmly and systematically relaxed parts of her body then leaned back against the soft cushions and closed her eyes.

-------------

Prudence glanced through the window of the restaurant and bit her lip. Was she really going to go through with this? _Really?_

For the umpteenth time she told herself to calm down, it was just a meal between two old friends…who happened to have a lot of history together, but nevertheless two old friends…

'_Then why are you wearing this dress?' _her treacherous mind whispered.

It was a fair point.

'_Nothing wrong with looking nice,'_ she argued back…but she knew that wasn't it. You could pick any modest looking dress and still look nice. She'd chosen her smoking hot black number…and she'd done her hair up especially nice…

"Okay. Fine." She said the words under her breath, grateful that the street was empty. "You want to dazzle him and flirt. Fine. Just don't you dare regret it tomorrow." With that she clicked into the building.

Truth be told she definitely wanted to bowl him over.

The look on Rax's face when he saw her was all she needed. His eyes swept over her with a pleasantly shocked air. He was dashing in a dark suit, more formal than she was used to seeing him. It suited.

With a gallant flourish he offered her his arm and grinning she took it, letting him lead her to their table

-------------

"That was lovely, thank you." Prue smiled as they drew up to her flat in his car. She'd gotten a taxi to the restaurant but Rax had insisted on driving her home. She did wonder why now. Sitting in the car like this suddenly brought everything back.

She was surprised to find she was nervous. She wanted him to kiss her so badly…but she wasn't that stupid little kid anymore. She was an adult and she was not going to throw herself at him again…not this time.

But it was so hard.

Prue turned to look at him and smiled. He was gazing at her, the light from a street lamp casting shadows on his handsome face. His previously neat hair had become ruffled and he'd removed his tie, undoing the top button of his shirt, giving his a more relaxed, informal air.

"I guess…" she swallowed and tried again. "I guess I'll see you around or something, you're welcome to drop by…sometime…if you…I mean…wanted to."

_Stop babbling!_

"That would be nice," he said quietly. His hands were still resting on the steering wheel, gripping the material tightly.

He wanted her gone. Clearly he was thinking about the past too, maybe worried that she was going to jump him again.

"Well bye," she muttered, unclipping her seat belt and opening the door.

"Prudence!" Rax cried suddenly and grabbed her arm.

She half turned back, pulled up short.

Damn it…she wanted to kiss him, he was so close…but she wasn't going to ruin this again. Not when she'd just found him. It wasn't fair to put him through everything again and jeopardise his marriage.

It took all her willpower to ease out of the car, pulling gently free of his grasp.

"Yes Rax?" she replied once she was out in the cold night air, which bit her skin and sobered her up from the drowsy heated tension of the car.

He sighed and placed his hands back on the wheel.

"You looked really beautiful tonight."

"Thank you," she whispered back, a tingle running up her spine.

"Goodnight."

"Yeah."

She slammed the car door and went into her place. The evening was over.

That night she dreamed of him again.

* * *

**Part 2 coming up**


	2. Chapter 2

The knock on the door startled her. With a slight frown Prue put down the paintbrush on the table next to her easel and started for the front door down the hall, wiping her hands on her paint stained shirt as she did so. With her mind still on the painting she opened the door.

Rax was standing there with his hands in his pockets, partially hunched over. His face was full of indecision, but on seeing her a smile broke across his face.

"Been painting have we?"

Prue stared at him with shock.

"I - I wasn't expecting you."

The smile rapidly faded.

"I probably should've called…"

"It's okay," she grinned, "I just would've changed out of this. Would you like a coffee or something?"

It was lovely seeing his face light up again and he stepped inside. She closed the door behind her and glanced in the mirror. Oh crumbs! Her hair was in total disarray and she had a blue paint smudge on one cheek!

"Erk!" she exclaimed.

Rax laughed. "Really. You look fine. I like this look."

Prue felt herself blush.

"The – the kitchen is through here." She stepped into the room and turned on the kettle, getting down two cups.

"Sorry?" she asked, realising Rax had said something that she hadn't heard over the whistling and banging.

"Could I see your studio?"

"Sure, third door on the left. Tea or Coffee?"

"Coffee please," he stated and left the room.

A few moments later Prue joined him in the studio carrying the two mugs. The studio was a light, airy room with a pale wood floor, skylight and a couch against one wall. There were a couple of bookcases next to the couch and a special storage box she kept her old sketchbooks and finished paintings in. The walls were lined with works created by her favourite artists and the odd plant stood in a corner. Most importantly, of course, her easel stood in the centre of the room with a small table next to it holding all her brushes.

Rax was standing behind it examining the picture she'd been creating before being interrupted.

"Here," she handed him the mug and bit her lip, not wanting to meet his eyes. It hadn't registered that by letting him see her studio she'd be letting him see the unfinished painting. "What do you think?" she whispered finally, unable to stand the silence any longer.

Rax had clearly been off in a trance. "Hmmm?" he looked at her then down at the coffee in his hand in surprise. "Oh! Thank you." He looked back at the painting. "Sorry I was somewhere else."

"I asked what you thought of it," she repeated nervously.

Rax lifted her chin so she was looking him in the eye and gave her a dazzling smile.

"It's beautiful," he whispered and let her go. "I love the underlying message."

The subject of the conversation was a sketch of two people holding each other while the world continued around them. There were people rushing all over the place in a blur, and in the centre stood the two characters, detached from everything else. Around the edges some characters were standing still with looks of disgust or horror on their faces, pointing at the two lovers in the centre, jeering…but they didn't care. Their faces were serene and calm, ignoring those around them.

Prue blushed lightly…to be honest it was supposed to be her and Rax…but she wasn't going to tell him that.

"I love how you've decorated," he told her, sipping the coffee and gazing around the studio. "Very you. The art is in good taste."

Prue laughed lightly and gestured to the couch, "You're just saying that because you have similar tastes. Would you like to sit down?"

Rax took her up on her offer and perched on the edge of the cushioned seat. Prudence plonked herself down next to him, folding one leg underneath her and gulping down her drink. Rax was studying her books and she couldn't help but smirk as she watched him.

"What?" he asked suddenly, catching her looking.

She merely grinned and gestured at his mug. "You gonna drink that or sit and be nosy?"

Rax raised his eyebrows snootily. "It's called taking an interest." He sipped the drink almost regally then turned back to Prudence with his best stuck up look. Unable to control herself Prue burst into peals of laughter, soon joined by Rax's, who's haughty demean quickly crumbled.

"What's this?" he asked eventually having stopped laughing and having finished his drink. He was gesturing towards her storage.

"Oh, just some finished paintings…"

"Mind if I take a look," he asked, eyes fixated on the box.

"I guess," she shrugged, "I can tell you want to."

Rax gave her a boyish grin and headed for it.

Prue rolled her eyes and picked up his abandoned cup. She quickly deposited both in the Kitchen sink and returned to the studio, anxious about her work.

When she re-entered she found Rax lying back on the couch and flicking through an old sketchbook that she remembered using in high school…probably the one she had been using when she'd met him.

"Anything incriminating?" she questioned, walking further into the room…and stopping dead. Lying next to him on the floor was her painting of him. A portrait she'd done soon after she'd left him forever, so she'd never forget…except it wasn't forever…and he had seen it. Damn! Her stomach lurched and she felt her lips go dry.

Rax looked up, focusing his attention onto her…and he smiled.

"It's good," he commented, lying her sketchpad back down and picking up the portrait to examine it further. "Considering how young you were, it's very good." He placed it back down carefully and took the book back up. "I can see you poured your heart into it."

She gave him a pained look. '_Far more than you possibly know'_ she thought.

"These are decent too," he pointed at the pastel pictures and sketches.

"Only decent?" she bristled slightly and went to sit next to him on the couch…half leaning over his shoulder. Was she flirting? Oh definitely.

"Yeah…they have promise…and the ideas are spectacular."

She punched him lightly on the arm with an 'I'm not impressed' look. "_You_ told us to draw them."

"Precisely."

Did he sound slightly out of breath or was she just imagining it?

-------------

She was driving him crazy.

He could feel her leaning over him, a strand of her hair tickling his face. It would be so easy just to turn and kiss her. So easy…

Her hand settled lightly on his shoulder and he took a shuddering breath, forcing the impulse away. He wasn't going to ruin this but he did wonder if she had any idea that was having this effect on him, whether she was doing it deliberately.

To distract his mind Keith looked at the rest of the sketchbook.

She'd drawn a portrait of him…and she'd kept it. What did that mean exactly? He'd kept the sketches he'd made of her because he never wanted to forget her, which was strange considering how painful it was to remember.

Rax flipped through some more pages of fruit and portraits before he started to get into the more imaginative stuff. These were the drawings Prue hadn't done at school. They were the ones that were reflecting how she had truly felt. They were mostly fantasy, some cheerful and others dark and they all fascinated him. What was she thinking when she drew this picture or that picture?

Keith turned to the next page and froze, staring.

-------------

Rax paused, his face suddenly becoming grim. Prue glanced over at him and saw what his eyes rested on. With a gasp she sprang forward and slammed the book shut on the picture of Marianne, Harry and Lilly falling out of an aeroplane with no parachute while she and Rax flew off hand in hand with heart-shaped jet packs.

"I was a child Rax," she said pleadingly. "Please understand that."

He gave a slight nod. "You do realise that I still love my family."

Prue felt a lump in her throat and tears burn behind her eyes.

"Then what are you doing here with me," she spat and bolted for the front door. She was running out of her own house but she didn't care. She couldn't think rationally. He was breaking her heart all over again and she couldn't bear it. Desperately Prudence reached the door, grabbed the handle and tugged blindly, feeling it open a little before slamming shut again. She pulled and wrenched at it, but it refused to budge. Finally she took in Rax's arm holding the door shut.

"Let me go," she rasped.

"Not yet," he replied softly. "Not in the state you're in."

"I told you to let me! Let me leave and continue my life, dying slowly."

"Oh Prudence!" He took her gently by the shoulders and turned her to face him. She hung her head, desperately fighting off tears. "What am I going to do with you?"

She rubbed one hand across her face, "Let me leave."

"I have a better alternative," he whispered huskily.

To her surprise Rax took her gently and kissed her on the lips.

"I might still love my family but not in the way I love you."

Her mouth formed a small o shape, her brain not properly processing the information.

"I divorced Marianne four years ago. It wasn't fair when I still loved you and your memory more."

Prue stared at him longer.

"Speak to me Prue!" he begged.

"Kiss me again," she whispered.

With a smile Rax obeyed.

* * *

**Urg! Soppy, I don't think I written soemthing this soppy in ages. Ah well.**


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